Abstract

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Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a naked, double-stranded DNA virus that is often responsible for benign lesions of the skin and mucous membranes. Certain strains of HPV have also been implicated in the development of epithelial malignancies. In this study, we investigated age prevalence of IgG antibodies to human papillomavirus16 and 18 among patients of age 1-65 years attending Family Medicine Department of the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin using ELISA techniques. Out of the 174 consented participants, the prevalence of IgG antibodies to HPV, HPV16 and HPV18 in this study is 3.4%, 0.6% and 1.7% respectively. A seroprevalence of 7.1% in the under 5 age-group was found in this cross sectional study. The correlation between the risk factors and HPV seroprevalence were however not statistically significant. The prevalence of IgG antibody observed also shows that majority of the subjects are still at risk of HPV infection and this highlights the potential roles of massive vaccination to provide herd immunity. Seroprevalence among under-5 class calls for inclusion of HPV vaccination among this age group as against current older vaccination age.

Keywords: Human Papillomavirus, IgG antibodies, Age, Prevalence, Vaccine